Jamie Iannone, president of Nook Media, said: "we’re delighted to introduce our free Nook Reading Apps that seamlessly bring millions of digital titles to the fingertips of customers who use Android and iOS devices, and to put our unmatched digital reading experience into the hands of even more Brits."

Via the Nook Newsstand, customers can trial magazines and newspapers for 14 days before subscribing or purchasing a single issue. Other features include ArticleView which focuses on text and Zoom View which focuses on individual panels for comics.

Barnes & Noble made no mention of an app for Windows Phone 8 in its announcement.